Display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a display apparatus includes providing a substrate, forming a display unit defining an opening portion in a display region over the substrate, forming a thin film encapsulation layer to seal the display unit, forming a touch electrode over the thin film encapsulation layer, forming a touch insulating film covering the touch electrode such that the thin film encapsulation layer and the touch insulating film are sequentially stacked and formed over the substrate in the opening portion, forming a touch contact hole by removing a portion of the touch insulating film to expose a portion of the touch electrode, and removing a portion of the touch insulating film and a portion of the thin film encapsulation layer formed in the opening portion to expose a portion of the substrate during the forming of the touch contact hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/273,042, filed on Feb. 11, 2019, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/298,082, filed Oct. 19, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No.10,230,069, issued Mar. 12, 2019, which claims priority to and thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0016360, filed Feb. 12,2016, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

One or more embodiments relate to display apparatuses, and to methods ofmanufacturing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, display apparatuses have been used for various purposes. Also,display apparatuses are widely used because they have become thin andlightweight. In particular, flat-panel display apparatuses have recentlybeen extensively researched and manufactured. Because displayapparatuses may be formed in the shape of a flat panel, the shapes ofdisplay apparatuses may be designed in various ways. Also, an increasingnumber of functions may be incorporated into, or associated with, thedisplay apparatuses.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments include display apparatuses having reducedoccurrence of cracking and reduced propagation of cracks, and alsoinclude methods of manufacturing the same.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description thatfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

According to one or more embodiments, a method of manufacturing adisplay apparatus includes providing a substrate, forming a display unitdefining an opening portion in a display region over the substrate,forming a thin film encapsulation layer to seal the display unit,forming a touch electrode over the thin film encapsulation layer,forming a touch insulating film covering the touch electrode such thatthe thin film encapsulation layer and the touch insulating film aresequentially stacked and formed over the substrate in the openingportion, forming a touch contact hole by removing a portion of the touchinsulating film to expose a portion of the touch electrode, and removinga portion of the touch insulating film and a portion of the thin filmencapsulation layer formed in the opening portion to expose a portion ofthe substrate during the forming of the touch contact hole.

The method may further include forming a hole in the substrate byremoving a portion of the exposed portion of the substrate.

The thin film encapsulation layer may include an organic film, and aninorganic film having a larger area than the organic film, and the touchinsulating film and the inorganic film may contact each other at an edgeof the organic film in the opening portion.

The method may further include removing a portion of the touchinsulating film and the inorganic film contacting each other at the edgeof the organic film in the opening portion during the forming of thetouch contact hole.

The removed portion of the touch insulating film and the inorganic filmin the opening portion may have a larger width than the hole.

The method may further include forming a touch line over the touchinsulating film to contact the touch electrode through the touch contacthole.

The opening portion may have a larger width than the hole in thesubstrate.

The method may further include removing a portion of the touchinsulating film and a portion of the thin film encapsulation layerformed in the opening portion during the forming of the touch contacthole, wherein the touch insulating film includes an inorganic material.

The thin film encapsulation layer may include at least one inorganicfilm and at least one organic film, and the method may further includeremoving a portion of the touch insulating film and a portion of the atleast one inorganic film during the forming of the touch contact hole.

The removing the portion of the touch insulating film and the portion ofthe at least one inorganic film may include a dry etching process.

The touch insulating film may include an organic material, the thin filmencapsulation layer may include an organic film, and an inorganic filmhaving a larger area than the organic film, the touch insulating filmand the inorganic film may be formed to contact each other at an edge ofthe organic film in the opening portion, and the touch insulating filmand the inorganic film formed in the opening portion may be sequentiallyremoved.

The touch insulating film may be removed by a photolithography process,and the inorganic film may be removed by a dry etching process.

The method may further include forming a barrier at an edge of the holeduring the removing of the portion of the touch insulating film and theportion the thin film encapsulation layer formed in the opening portion.

The barrier may include a first layer including the thin filmencapsulation layer, and a second layer including the touch insulatingfilm.

The barrier may define a valley exposing a surface of the substrate.

The method may further include, before the forming of the hole in thesubstrate, forming a passivation layer in the opening portion to coverthe barrier.

The method may further include, before the forming of the touchelectrode, forming an upper dam over the thin film encapsulation layer.

The method may further include forming a buffer layer over the thin filmencapsulation layer, wherein the upper dam is formed at an edge of theopening portion and prevents the buffer layer from spreading to theopening portion.

The touch electrode may be formed over the buffer layer.

The method may further include, before the forming of the thin filmencapsulation layer, forming two lower dams spaced apart from each otherover the substrate at an edge of the opening portion, wherein the thinfilm encapsulation layer is curved by the two lower dams to include oneconcave portion.

The concave portion may correspond to a position between the two lowerdams, and the upper dam may be formed over the concave portion.

The two lower dams may surround the hole.

The display region may include a thin film transistor, and a displaydevice connected electrically to the thin film transistor, and thedisplay device may include an organic light-emitting device including afirst electrode connected electrically to the thin film transistor, asecond electrode facing the first electrode, and an intermediate layerinterposed between the first electrode and the second electrode.

According to one or more embodiments, a display apparatus includes asubstrate defining a hole, a display unit over the substrate, includinga display region, and defining an opening portion in the display region,a thin film encapsulation layer for sealing the display unit, a touchelectrode over the thin film encapsulation layer, a touch insulatingfilm over the thin film encapsulation layer to cover the touchelectrode, and defining a touch contact hole, and a barrier including aportion of the thin film encapsulation layer and a portion the touchinsulating film sequentially stacked in the opening portion.

The thin film encapsulation layer may include at least one inorganicfilm and at least one organic film, and the barrier may include a firstlayer including the at least one inorganic film, and a second layerincluding the touch insulating film.

The barrier may define a valley exposing a surface of the substrate.

The display may further include a touch line over the touch insulatingfilm and contacting the touch electrode through the touch contact hole.

The opening portion may have a larger width than the hole of thesubstrate.

The display may further include a passivation layer in the openingportion and covering the barrier.

The display may further include an upper dam and a buffer layer over thethin film encapsulation layer, wherein the upper dam is at an edge ofthe opening portion to prevent the buffer layer from spreading to theopening portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a display apparatus according to anembodiment;

FIGS. 2A to 2E are sequential cross-sectional views taken along the lineII-II′ of FIG. 1 to illustrate a method of manufacturing a displayapparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic partial cross-sectional view taken along the lineII-II′ of FIG. 1 to illustrate a display unit included in the displayapparatus;

FIGS. 4A to 4D are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment;

FIGS. 6A to 6F are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment; and

FIGS. 7A to 7G are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Features of the inventive concept and methods of accomplishing the samemay be understood more readily by reference to the following detaileddescription of embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter,example embodiments will be described in more detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers refer to likeelements throughout. The present invention, however, may be embodied invarious different forms, and should not be construed as being limited toonly the illustrated embodiments herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided as examples so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the aspects and features of the presentinvention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, processes, elements,and techniques that are not necessary to those having ordinary skill inthe art for a complete understanding of the aspects and features of thepresent invention may not be described. Unless otherwise noted, likereference numerals denote like elements throughout the attached drawingsand the written description, and thus, descriptions thereof will not berepeated. In the drawings, the relative sizes of elements, layers, andregions may be exaggerated for clarity.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements,components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region,layer or section from another element, component, region, layer orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or sectiondescribed below could be termed a second element, component, region,layer or section, without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “under,”“above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofexplanation to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or in operation, in additionto the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the devicein the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or“beneath” or “under” other elements or features would then be oriented“above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example terms “below”and “under” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein shouldbe interpreted accordingly.

It will be understood that when an element, layer, region, or componentis referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” anotherelement, layer, region, or component, it can be directly on, connectedto, or coupled to the other element, layer, region, or component, or oneor more intervening elements, layers, regions, or components may bepresent. In addition, it will also be understood that when an element orlayer is referred to as being “between” two elements or layers, it canbe the only element or layer between the two elements or layers, or oneor more intervening elements or layers may also be present.

In the following examples, the x-axis, the y-axis and the z-axis are notlimited to three axes of a rectangular coordinate system, and may beinterpreted in a broader sense. For example, the x-axis, the y-axis, andthe z-axis may be perpendicular to one another, or may representdifferent directions that are not perpendicular to one another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentinvention. As used herein, the singular forms “a” and “an” are intendedto include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and “including,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of the stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressionssuch as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify theentire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of thelist.

As used herein, the term “substantially,” “about,” and similar terms areused as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and areintended to account for the inherent deviations in measured orcalculated values that would be recognized by those of ordinary skill inthe art. Further, the use of “may” when describing embodiments of thepresent invention refers to “one or more embodiments of the presentinvention.” As used herein, the terms “use,” “using,” and “used” may beconsidered synonymous with the terms “utilize,” “utilizing,” and“utilized,” respectively. Also, the term “exemplary” is intended torefer to an example or illustration.

When a certain embodiment may be implemented differently, a specificprocess order may be performed differently from the described order. Forexample, two consecutively described processes may be performedsubstantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to thedescribed order.

The electronic or electric devices and/or any other relevant devices orcomponents according to embodiments of the present invention describedherein may be implemented utilizing any suitable hardware, firmware(e.g. an application-specific integrated circuit), software, or acombination of software, firmware, and hardware. For example, thevarious components of these devices may be formed on one integratedcircuit (IC) chip or on separate IC chips. Further, the variouscomponents of these devices may be implemented on a flexible printedcircuit film, a tape carrier package (TCP), a printed circuit board(PCB), or formed on one substrate. Further, the various components ofthese devices may be a process or thread, running on one or moreprocessors, in one or more computing devices, executing computer programinstructions and interacting with other system components for performingthe various functionalities described herein. The computer programinstructions are stored in a memory which may be implemented in acomputing device using a standard memory device, such as, for example, arandom access memory (RAM). The computer program instructions may alsobe stored in other non-transitory computer readable media such as, forexample, a CD-ROM, flash drive, or the like. Also, a person of skill inthe art should recognize that the functionality of various computingdevices may be combined or integrated into a single computing device, orthe functionality of a particular computing device may be distributedacross one or more other computing devices without departing from thespirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/orthe present specification, and should not be interpreted in an idealizedor overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a display apparatus 1000 according toan embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the display apparatus 1000 includes a displayregion/display area DA and a non-display region/non-display area NA. Thedisplay apparatus 1000 may include various devices, and may include, forexample, an organic light-emitting device (OLED) or a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) device. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it isassumed that the display apparatus 1000 includes an OLED.

The display region DA includes a hole H, and includes a pixel array 1including pixels P surrounding the hole H. Each pixel P of the pixelarray 1 includes a circuit unit, and an OLED connected electrically tothe circuit unit, and provides an image by using the light emitted fromthe OLED.

The non-display region NA may surround the display region DA, and mayinclude a driving unit, such as a data driving unit and a scan drivingunit, for transferring a signal to each pixel P of the display regionDA.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates that the hole H is at a center portion andis also at an edge portion(s) of the display region DA of the displayapparatus 1000, the inventive concept is not limited thereto. The hole Hmay be located at any position in the display region DA while beingsurrounded by the pixels P. For example, the hole H may also be locatedat an outermost portion/an outer edge of the display region DA, asillustrated in FIG. 1.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates that the hole H has a circular shape, asemicircular shape, or a triangular shape, the inventive concept is notlimited thereto. The display region DA may have various shapes, such asan elliptical shape and a tetragonal shape.

FIGS. 2A to 2E are sequential cross-sectional views taken along the lineII-II′ of FIG. 1 to illustrate a method of manufacturing a displayapparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic partialcross-sectional view taken along the line II-II′ of FIG. 1 to illustratea display unit included in the display apparatus.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a display apparatus according toan embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2A to2E.

First, FIG. 2A illustrates a substrate 100 located in the display regionDA. A display unit 200 including/defining at least one opening portionOP may be formed in the display region DA of the substrate 100.

A buffer layer 110 may be first formed over the substrate 100, and thenthe display unit 200 may be formed over the buffer layer 110. AlthoughFIG. 2A illustrates that the display unit 200 is formed over the bufferlayer 110, the inventive concept is not limited thereto, and the displayunit 200 may be formed directly over the substrate 100 in an alternativeembodiment.

The substrate 100 may include various materials. The substrate 100 maybe formed of a transparent glass material having SiO₂ as a maincomponent. However, the substrate 100 is not limited thereto, and mayalso be formed of a transparent plastic material. The plastic materialmay be an organic material selected from the group consisting ofpolyethersulphone (PES), polyacrylate (PAR), polyetherimide (PEI),polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyallylate, polyimide, polycarbonate(PC), cellulose triacetate (TAC), and/or cellulose acetate propionate(CAP), which are insulating organic materials.

Also, the substrate 100 may be formed of a flexible material to betwo-dimensionally extended. As an alternative embodiment, the substrate100 may be formed of a material having a Poisson's ratio of 0.4 or more.The Poisson's ratio refers to the ratio of a contraction strain, whichis in a direction that is opposite to a direction of a stretching force,to an extension strain in a direction corresponding to the direction ofthe stretching force. When the substrate 100 is formed of a materialhaving a Poisson's ratio of 0.4 or more (e.g., when the substrate 100has an easily extensible property), the flexibility of the substrate 100may be improved. Also, because the substrate 100 includes a flexibleregion, the shape of the display apparatus 1000 may be easily modifiedin a bending region.

The buffer layer 110 may function as a barrier layer and/or a blockinglayer for reducing or preventing the diffusion of impurity ions into thedisplay unit 200, reducing or preventing the infiltration of externalair or moisture therethrough, and/or planarizing a surface of thesubstrate 100. For example, the buffer layer 110 may include inorganicmaterials, such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride,aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, titanium oxide, and/or titaniumnitride, and/or may include organic materials, such as polyimide,polyester, and/or acryl, and may be formed of any stack thereof.

Hereinafter, the display unit 200 formed over the substrate 100 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

A thin film transistor TFT may be formed over the substrate 100. Thethin film transistor TFT may include a semiconductor layer A, a gateelectrode G, a source electrode S, and a drain electrode D. AlthoughFIG. 3 illustrates a top gate type TFT sequentially including asemiconductor layer A, a gate electrode G, and a source electrode S anda drain electrode D, the inventive concept is not limited thereto andvarious types of TFTs, such as bottom gate type TFTs, may also be usedherein.

The semiconductor layer A may be formed by using an organicsemiconductor or an inorganic semiconductor, such as silicon. Also, thesemiconductor layer A includes a source region, a drain region, and achannel region therebetween. For example, when the semiconductor layer Ais formed by using amorphous silicon, the semiconductor layer A, whichincludes a source region, a drain region, and a channel regiontherebetween, may be formed by forming an amorphous silicon layer overthe substrate 100, crystallizing the amorphous silicon layer to form apolycrystalline silicon layer, patterning the polycrystalline siliconlayer, and then doping a drain region and a source region of an edgethereof.

After the forming of the semiconductor layer A, a gate insulating film210 may be formed over the semiconductor layer A over the substrate 100.The gate insulating film 210 may include a single layer or multiplelayers formed of an inorganic material, such as silicon oxide and/orsilicon nitride. The gate insulating film 210 insulates thesemiconductor layer A from the gate electrode G.

The gate electrode G may be formed above the gate insulating film 210.The gate electrode G is connected to a gate line for applying an on/offsignal of the thin film transistor TFT. The gate electrode G may includeat least one metal selected from molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al),platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), gold (Au),nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr), lithium (Li),calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), and/or copper (Cu). However,the gate electrode G is not limited thereto, and may be formed ofvarious materials in consideration of design conditions.

After the forming of the gate electrode G, an interlayer insulating film230 may be formed over the substrate 100 to insulate the gate electrodeG from the source electrode S and the drain electrode D. The interlayerinsulating film 230 may be formed of an inorganic material. For example,the interlayer insulating film 230 may be formed of metal oxide and/ormetal nitride, and the inorganic material may include silicon oxide(SiO₂), silicon nitride (SiN_(x)), silicon oxynitride (SiON), aluminumoxide (Al₂O₃), titanium oxide (TiO₂), tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), hafniumoxide (HfO₂), and/or zirconium oxide (ZrO₂). The interlayer insulatingfilm 230 may include a single layer or multiple layers formed of aninorganic material, such as silicon oxide (SiO_(x)) and/or siliconnitride (SiN_(x)). In some embodiments, the interlayer insulating film230 may include a dual structure of SiO_(x)/SiN_(y) and/orSiN_(x)/SiO_(y).

The source electrode S and the drain electrode D are formed over theinterlayer insulating film 230. In an embodiment, the interlayerinsulating film 230 and the gate insulating film 210 are formed toexpose the source region and the drain region of the semiconductor layerA, and the source electrode S and the drain electrode D are formed torespectively contact the exposed source region and the exposed drainregion of the semiconductor layer A. The source electrode S and thedrain electrode D may include a single layer or multiple layers formedof at least one of aluminum (Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), silver(Ag), magnesium (Mg), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd), iridium(Ir), chromium (Cr), lithium (Li), calcium (Ca), molybdenum (Mo),titanium (Ti), tungsten (W), and/or copper (Cu).

The thin film transistor TFT is electrically connected to the OLED toapply a signal for driving the OLED to the OLED. The thin filmtransistor TFT may be covered and protected by a planarization film 250.The planarization film 250 may include an inorganic insulating filmand/or an organic insulating film. For example, the inorganic insulatingfilm may include SiO₂, SiN_(x), SiON, Al₂O₃, TiO₂, Ta₂O₅, HfO₂, ZrO₂,BST, and/or PZT, and the organic insulating film may include ageneral-purpose polymer (PMMA, PS), a polymer derivative having aphenol-based group, an acryl-based polymer, an imide-based polymer, anaryl ether-based polymer, an amide-based polymer, a fluorine-basedpolymer, a p-xylene-based polymer, a vinyl alcohol-based polymer, and/orany blend thereof. Also, the planarization film 250 may be formed of acomposite stack of an inorganic insulating film and an organicinsulating film.

The OLED may be provided over the planarization film 250. The OLED mayinclude a first electrode 281, an intermediate layer 283 including anorganic emission layer, and a second electrode 285. Holes and electronsinjected from the first electrode 281 and the second electrode 285 ofthe OLED may be combined in the organic emission layer of theintermediate layer 283 to generate light.

The first electrode 281 is formed over the planarization film 250, andis electrically connected to the drain electrode D through a contacthole formed in/defined by the planarization film 250. However, theinventive concept is not limited to a case where the first electrode 281is electrically connected to the drain electrode D, and the firstelectrode 281 may also be electrically connected to the source electrodeS to receive an application of a signal for driving the OLED in otherembodiments.

The first electrode 281 may be a reflective electrode, and may include areflective film formed of Ag, Mg, Al, Pt, Pd, Au, Ni, Nd, Ir, Cr, and/orany compound thereof, and may also include a transparent orsemitransparent electrode layer formed over the reflective film. Thetransparent or semitransparent electrode layer may include at least oneselected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide (ITO), indiumzinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In₂O₃), indium galliumoxide (IGO), and/or aluminum zinc oxide (AZO).

The intermediate layer 283 may include the organic emission layer. As analternative example, the intermediate layer 283 may further include atleast one of a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL),an electron transport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer(EIL). However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and theintermediate layer 283 may include an organic emission layer and mayfurther include other various functional layers.

The second electrode 285 is formed over the intermediate layer 283. Thesecond electrode 285 may generate an electric field with the firstelectrode 281 to enable the intermediate layer 283 to emit light. Thefirst electrode 281 may be patterned in each pixel, and the secondelectrode 285 may be formed to apply a common voltage to all pixels.

The second electrode 285, which is arranged to face the first electrode281, may be a transparent or semitransparent electrode, and may beformed of a thin metal film having a low work function and including Li,Ca, LiF/Ca, LiF/Al, Al, Ag, Mg, and/or any compound thereof. Also, overthe thin metal film, an auxiliary electrode layer or a bus electrode maybe formed of a transparent electrode formation material such as ITO,IZO, ZnO, and/or In₂O₃. Accordingly, the second electrode 285 maytransmit the light emitted from the organic emission layer included inthe intermediate layer 283. For example, the light emitted from theorganic emission layer may be emitted to the second electrode 285directly, or may be emitted by being reflected by the first electrode281 including a reflective electrode.

However, the display unit 200 of the present embodiment is not limitedto a top/front emission type, but may also be a bottom/rear emissiontype in which the light emitted from the organic emission layer isemitted to the substrate 100. In this case, the first electrode 281 mayinclude a transparent or semitransparent electrode, and the secondelectrode 285 may include a reflective electrode. Also, the display unit200 of the present embodiment may be a dual-side emission type thatemits the light in both directions corresponding to the top side and thebottom side.

As an alternative embodiment, the first electrode 281 may be patterned,for example, in each pixel. The display unit 200 may further include apixel definition film/pixel defining film 270 formed over the firstelectrode 281 (e.g., over edges of the first electrode 281). The pixeldefinition film 270 may include/define an opening 270 a that exposes thefirst electrode 281. The intermediate layer 283 may be electricallyconnected to the first electrode 281 by being formed corresponding to(e.g., in) the opening 270 a. For example, by a spin coating process,the pixel definition film 270 may be formed of at least one organicinsulating material selected from the group consisting of polyimide,polyamide, acrylic resin, benzocyclobutene, and/or phenolic resin.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a thin film encapsulation layer 300 sealing thedisplay unit 200 may be formed over the display unit 200. The thin filmencapsulation layer 300 may be formed to completely seal the displayunit 200 to protect the display unit 200 from the external moisture oroxygen. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the thin film encapsulation layer 300may be formed to cover all of the display unit 200, including theopening portion OP, so that it may be stacked and formed over thesubstrate 100 while also being in the opening portion OP.

In an alternative embodiment, the thin film encapsulation layer 300 mayhave a structure in which a plurality of thin film layers are stacked(e.g., a structure in which an inorganic film 310 and an organic film330 are alternately stacked).

The thin film encapsulation layer 300 may be formed by sequentiallystacking a first inorganic film 310 a, an organic film 330, and a secondinorganic film 310 b as illustrated in FIG. 2A. The number of thin filmlayers is not limited thereto, and a plurality of thin film layers maybe alternately stacked and formed.

The inorganic film 310 may firmly block the infiltration of oxygen ormoisture, and the organic film 330 may absorb a stress on the inorganicfilm 310 to give flexibility thereto. The inorganic film 310 may be asingle film or may be a film stack including metal oxide and/or metalnitride. As an alternative embodiment, the inorganic film(s) may includeany one of SiN_(x), Al₂O₃, SiO₂, TiO₂, and/or SiON.

The organic film 330 may be formed of a polymer and may be, for example,a single film or a film stack formed of any one of polyethyleneterephthalate, polyimide, polycarbonate, epoxy, polyethylene, and/orpolyacrylate. For example, the organic film 330 may be formed ofpolyacrylate. In an embodiment, the organic film 330 may include apolymerized monomer composition including a diacrylate-based monomer anda triacrylate-based monomer. The monomer composition may further includea monoacrylate-based monomer. Also, the monomer composition may furtherinclude a photoinitiator such as trimethyl benzoyl diphenyl phosphineoxide (TPO), but the inventive concept is not limited thereto.

The first inorganic film 310 a and the second inorganic film 310 b mayhave a larger area than the organic film 330. For example, the organicfilm 330 may be completely sealed by the first inorganic film 310 a andthe second inorganic film 310 b. The first inorganic film 310 a and thesecond inorganic film 310 b may contact each other at an edge of theorganic film 330 in the opening portion OP as illustrated in FIG. 2A.For example, the first inorganic film 310 a and the second inorganicfilm 310 b may contact each other at an edge of, or at edges of, theorganic film 330 to surround the organic film 330.

Next, referring to FIG. 2B, a touch electrode 410 may be formed over thethin film encapsulation layer 300, and a touch insulating film 430 maybe formed to cover the touch electrode 410. The touch electrode 410 maybe formed of a material that is electrically conductive withoutobstructing light transmission. For example, the touch electrode 410 mayinclude metal oxide, such as indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, copperoxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, and/or titanium oxide. Alternatively, thetouch electrode 410 may include a nanowire, a photosensitive nanowirefilm, a carbon nanotube (CNT), a graphene, and/or a conductive polymer.Alternatively, the touch electrode 410 may include various metals. Forexample, the touch electrode 410 may include at least one metal amongchromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silver (Ag),molybdenum (Mo), gold (Au), titanium (Ti), and/or any alloy thereof,such as Ti/Al/Ti.

The touch insulating film 430 may be formed over the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 to cover the touch electrode 410. The touchinsulating film 430 may also be formed over the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 in the opening portion OP, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. Forexample, the thin film encapsulation layer 300 and the touch insulatingfilm 430 may be sequentially stacked and formed in the opening portionOP formed in the display unit 200. Because the first inorganic film 310a and the second inorganic film 310 b of the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 contact each other at an edge of the organic film 330 in theopening portion OP, the first inorganic film 310 a, the second inorganicfilm 310 b, and the touch insulating film 430 may be sequentiallystacked in a region in the opening portion OP.

The touch insulating film 430 may be an inorganic film formed of aninorganic material, or may be an organic film formed of an organicmaterial. As an alternative embodiment, the touch insulating film 430may be a single film, or may be a film stack including metal oxideand/or metal nitride. For example, the touch insulating film 430 mayinclude any one of SiN_(x), Al₂O₃, SiO₂, and/or TiO₂.

As another alternative embodiment, the touch insulating film 430 may beformed of a polymer, and may be, for example, a single film or a filmstack formed of any one of polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide,polycarbonate, epoxy, polyethylene, and/or polyacrylate. For example,the touch insulating film 430 may be formed of polyacrylate. In anembodiment, the touch insulating film 430 may include a polymerizedmonomer composition including a diacrylate-based monomer and/or atriacrylate-based monomer.

Next, referring to FIG. 2C, a touch contact hole(s) TCH may be formed byremoving portions the touch insulating film 430 to expose at least aportion of the touch electrode 410.

In the display apparatus manufacturing method according to the presentembodiment, at least a portion of the touch insulating film 430 and thethin film encapsulation layer 300 formed in the opening portion OP maybe removed during the forming of the touch contact hole TCH. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, a portion of the touch insulatingfilm 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 located in theopening portion OP may be removed to expose the substrate 100 during theprocess of forming the touch contact hole TCH.

Additionally, at least one inorganic film 310 of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 may be removed from the opening portion OP.Further, the first inorganic film 310 a, the second inorganic film 310b, and the touch insulating film 430 stacked sequentially in the openingportion OP may be removed during the forming of the touch contact holeTCH.

When the touch insulating film 430 is formed of an inorganic material,the touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300in the opening portion OP may be removed simultaneously (e.g., nearlysimultaneously, or concurrently) while removing the touch insulatingfilm 430 to form the touch contact hole TCH.

The thin film encapsulation layer 300 may include the first inorganicfilm 310 a, the organic film 330, and the second inorganic film 310 b,and the first inorganic film 310 a and the second inorganic film 310 bcontact each other at an edge of the organic film 330 in the openingportion OP. Therefore, when the touch insulating film 430 is formed ofan inorganic material, the inorganic film 310 and the touch insulatingfilm 430 may be concurrently removed (removed in a single process) fromthe opening portion OP in the forming of the touch contact hole TCH.

According to an embodiment, the inorganic film 310 of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 and the touch insulating film 430 formed of aninorganic material may be concurrently removed by, for example, a dryetching process. Dry etching may effectively suppress vertical erosionthat may otherwise occur with wet etching. Therefore, dry etching issuitable for fine pattern etching, and an etching process may beperformed by a gas system, for example, by plasma without using achemical solution. However, the process of removing the touch insulatingfilm 430 and the inorganic film 310 of the thin film encapsulation layer300 is not limited thereto, and the forming of the touch contact holeTCH and the removing of the touch insulating film 430 and the inorganicfilm 310 in the opening portion OP may be performed by any process forremoving a film formed of an inorganic material.

In the display apparatus manufacturing method according to the presentembodiment, at least a portion of the touch insulating film 430 and theinorganic film 310 stacked in the opening portion OP may be removedconcurrently while performing the process of forming the touch contacthole TCH.

As another alternative embodiment, the touch insulating film 430 may beformed of an organic material. In this case, to form the touch contacthole TCH, the touch insulating film 430 may be removed by aphotolithography process, and the inorganic film 310 may be removed by adry etching process. For example, a photolithography process may beperformed to remove a portion of the touch insulating film 430 over thetouch electrode 410 and to remove a portion of the touch insulating film430 in the opening portion OP, and a dry etching process may beperformed to remove the inorganic film 310 in the opening portion OP.However, this process is merely an example, and the process of removingthe touch insulating film 430 and the inorganic film 310 of the thinfilm encapsulation layer 300 is not limited thereto.

Next, referring to FIG. 2D, a touch line 450 may be formed over thetouch insulating film 430. The touch line 450 may contact the touchelectrode 410 through the touch contact hole TCH. The touch line 450 mayinclude any line that is physically or electrically connected to thetouch electrode 410. The touch line 450 may be formed of alow-resistance metal material, such as molybdenum (Mo), silver (Ag),titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and/or Mo/Al/Mo.

Next, referring to FIG. 2E, a hole H may be formed by removing at leasta portion of the substrate 100 that is exposed by removing a portion ofthe touch insulating film 430 and a portion the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 formed in the opening portion OP. That is, for example, thedisplay apparatus 1000 having the hole H formed in the substrate 100 inthe display region DA may be manufactured. The hole H may be formed byphysically removing at least a portion of the substrate 100. The methodof forming the hole H is not limited thereto, and the hole H may beformed by various methods.

Because the hole H is formed by removing at least a portion of thesubstrate 100 exposed by removing a portion of the touch insulating film430 and a portion of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 formed in theopening portion OP, the hole H may have a smaller width than the openingportion OP. As an alternative embodiment, the hole H may have a smallerwidth than the width of the portion of touch insulating film 430 and theportion of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 removed in the openingportion OP.

A crack may occur when a portion of the substrate 100 is physicallyremoved. Further, a crack may occur and propagate when an inorganic filmis located over a portion where the substrate 100 is cut. In this case,the propagated crack may affect the display unit 200 to degrade thereliability of a display apparatus.

However, in the case of the display apparatus 1000 manufactured by thedisplay apparatus manufacturing method according to the presentembodiment, because the touch insulating film 430 and the inorganic film310 in the opening portion OP are concurrently removed in advance of theprocess of forming the touch contact hole TCH, and because the hole H isformed by cutting a portion of the substrate 100 that is exposed byremoving portions of the touch insulating film 430 and the inorganicfilm 310, the risk that a crack will occur and propagate in theinorganic film is reduced or eliminated. Thus, the display apparatus1000 having the display unit 200 over the substrate 100 including thehole H may be manufactured without crack occurrence.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment. In FIGS. 4A to 4D, reference numerals alike to those inFIGS. 1 to 3 will denote like elements. Thus, redundant descriptionsthereof will be omitted hereafter for conciseness.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the display apparatus manufacturing methodaccording to the present embodiment may prepare a substrate 100, mayform a display unit 200 defining an opening portion OP over thesubstrate 100 of a display region DA, and may form a thin filmencapsulation layer 300 for sealing the display unit 200.

The thin film encapsulation layer 300 may include at least one inorganicfilm 310 and at least one organic film 330. A first inorganic film 310a, an organic film 330, and a second inorganic film 310 b may bealternately stacked and formed therein. The thin film encapsulationlayer 300 may also be formed in the opening portion OP to completelyprotect the display unit 200 from the external moisture or oxygen.Further, the inorganic film 310 may have a larger area than the organicfilm 330. In this case, when the inorganic film 310 includes the firstinorganic film 310 a and the second inorganic film 310 b, it maysurround the organic film 330.

Next, referring to FIG. 4B, a touch electrode 410 may be formed over thethin film encapsulation layer 300, and a touch insulating film 430 maybe formed over the thin film encapsulation layer 300 to cover the touchelectrode 410.

The touch insulating film 430 may be an organic film formed of anorganic material, or may be an inorganic film formed of an inorganicmaterial. The touch insulating film 430 may be formed over the substrate100, and may be stacked and formed in the opening portion OP. In oneembodiment, the thin film encapsulation layer 300 and the touchinsulating film 430 may be sequentially stacked and formed over thesubstrate 100 in the opening portion OP. In another embodiment, thetouch insulating film 430 and the inorganic film 310 of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 may contact each other at an edge of the organicfilm 330 of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 in the opening portionOP.

Next, the touch insulating film 430 may be partially removed to exposeat least a portion of the touch electrode 410. The touch insulating film430 located over the touch electrode 410 may be partially removed toform a touch contact hole TCH.

The touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300formed in the opening portion OP may be partially removed during theforming of the touch contact hole TCH.

As an alternative embodiment, the inorganic film 310 and the touchinsulating film 430 may be sequentially stacked and formed to contacteach other at an edge of the organic film 330 in the opening portion OP,and the touch insulating film 430 and the inorganic film 310 in theopening portion OP may be partially removed during the forming of thetouch contact hole TCH.

When the touch insulating film 430 is an inorganic film formed of aninorganic material, a portion of the touch insulating film 430 and theinorganic film 310 in the opening portion OP may be removed concurrentlywith the removal of a portion of the touch insulating film 430 to formthe touch contact hole TCH.

The inorganic film 310 and the touch insulating film 430 may be removed,for example, by a dry etching process.

The touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300in the opening portion OP may be partially removed to form a barrier B.The barrier B may include a first layer formed of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 (e.g., the inorganic film 310), and a secondlayer formed of the touch insulating film 430.

As an alternative embodiment, the first inorganic film 310 a and thesecond inorganic film 310 b may be stacked to form the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP, and in this case, thefirst layer of the barrier B may include the first inorganic film 310 aand the second inorganic film 310 b.

At least one valley V exposing a surface of the substrate 100 may beformed by partially removing the touch insulating film 430 and the thinfilm encapsulation layer 300 in the barrier B during the forming of thebarrier B.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, two valleys V may be formed in the barrier B.Accordingly, two portions exposing the substrate 100 may be formed inthe barrier B, and thus, the barrier B may be formed to be split intothree pillars.

The display apparatus manufacturing method according to the presentembodiment may reduce or prevent the propagation of a crack by partiallyremoving the touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 formed of an inorganic material to expose the substrate 100.

Also, time and cost may be saved because the barrier B and the valley Vmay be formed in the opening portion OP concurrently with the forming ofthe touch contact hole TCH without an additional process.

Next, referring to FIG. 4C, a touch line 450 may be formed in/over thetouch contact hole TCH. The touch line 450 may contact the touchelectrode 410 through the touch contact hole TCH, and the touch line 450may include any line that is physically or electrically connected to thetouch electrode 410.

Next, referring to FIG. 4D, a hole H may be formed by removing at leasta portion of the substrate 100 that is exposed by removing a portion ofthe touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300in the opening portion OP.

In a display apparatus 2000 manufactured by the display apparatusmanufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the hole H maybe formed in the substrate 100 in the display region DA, and the barrierB formed of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 and the touchinsulating film 430 may be arranged at or around an edge of the hole H.

The hole H may be formed by physically removing at least a portion ofthe substrate 100. The method of forming the hole H is not limitedthereto, and the hole H may be formed by various methods. The hole H mayhave a smaller width than the opening portion OP.

When the hole H is physically formed in the substrate 100, a crack mayoccur due to an impact thereof. In this case, the crack may propagatethrough the inorganic film arranged over the substrate 100, to affectthe reliability of a display apparatus.

However, in the case of the display apparatus 2000 manufactured by thedisplay apparatus manufacturing method according to the presentembodiment, because the inorganic films arranged at a portion forformation of the hole H are removed in advance before the forming of thehole H in the substrate 100, the occurrence and propagation of a crackmay be reduced or prevented. Also, the touch insulating film 430 and thethin film encapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP may beconcurrently removed in the process of forming the touch contact hole(s)TCH.

Also, because the barrier B is formed by partially removing the touchinsulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 that arearranged at an edge of the portion for formation of the hole H beforethe forming of the hole H, even if a crack occurs, the propagation ofthe crack may be reduced or prevented.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment. Herein, for conciseness, differences from the displayapparatus manufacturing method illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4D will bemainly described, and like reference numerals will denote like elements,and thus redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

First, referring to FIG. 5A, a display unit 200 including an openingportion OP, a thin film encapsulation layer 300, a touch electrode 410,and a touch insulating film 430 may be sequentially formed over asubstrate 100.

Thereafter, when a touch contact hole(s) TCH is formed, the touchinsulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 in theopening portion OP may be partially removed to form a barrier B. As analternative embodiment, a valley V partially exposing the substrate 100may be additionally formed in the barrier B.

Thereafter, a touch line 450 may be formed in/over the touch contacthole(s) TCH. The touch line 450 may contact the touch electrode(s) 410through the touch contact hole(s) TCH.

Next, referring to FIG. 5B, a passivation layer 500 may be formed tocover the barrier B.

In an embodiment, the passivation layer 500 may be formed of an organicmaterial. The passivation layer 500 may be formed of a polymer and maybe, for example, a single film or a film stack formed of any one ofpolyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polycarbonate, epoxy,polyethylene, and polyacrylate. For example, the organic films may beformed of polyacrylate. In an embodiment, the organic films may includea polymerized monomer composition including a diacrylate-based monomerand a triacrylate-based monomer.

As an alternative embodiment, the passivation layer 500 may be formedby, for example, an organic process or a printing (ink-jet) process.

The passivation layer 500 may be formed in the opening portion OP tocover the barrier B. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, thepassivation layer 500 may be formed over the substrate 100 at theformation position of the barrier B in the opening portion OP.

The passivation layer 500 may be formed in a region where the touchinsulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 arepartially removed, to cover the barrier B.

As an alternative embodiment, when a valley V partially exposing thesubstrate 100 is formed in the barrier B, the passivation layer 500 maybe formed also in the valley V (e.g., to touch the substrate 100).

Because an organic film may absorb a stress on an inorganic film to giveflexibility thereto, the occurrence of a crack may be reduced orprevented when the passivation layer 500 formed of an organic materialis formed in the valley V and over the barrier B to cover the barrier Bformed of an inorganic material.

Next, referring to FIG. 5C, a hole H may be formed by removing at leasta portion of the substrate 100 that is exposed by removing a portion ofthe touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300in the opening portion OP.

In a display apparatus 3000 manufactured by the display apparatusmanufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the hole H maybe formed in the substrate 100 in the display region DA, and the barrierB formed of the thin film encapsulation layer 300 and the touchinsulating film 430 may be arranged at or around an edge of the hole H.Also, the passivation layer 500 may be formed in the opening portion OPto cover the barrier B.

The hole H may be formed by physically removing at least a portion ofthe substrate 100. The method of forming the hole H is not limitedthereto, and the hole H may be formed by various methods.

As an alternative embodiment, the hole H may have a smaller width thanthe opening portion OP.

In the case of the display apparatus 3000 manufactured by the displayapparatus manufacturing method according to the present embodiment,because the inorganic films arranged at a portion for formation of thehole H are removed in advance before the forming of the hole H in thesubstrate 100, the occurrence and propagation of a crack may be reducedor prevented. Also, time and cost may be saved because the touchinsulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 in theopening portion OP may be concurrently removed in the process of theforming the touch contact hole(s) TCH.

Also, because the barrier B is formed by partially removing the touchinsulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 arrangedat/around an edge of the portion to be removed for formation of the holeH before the forming of the hole H, even when a crack occurs, thepropagation of the crack may be reduced or prevented.

In addition, because the passivation layer 500 covering the barrier Bmay be formed, and because the passivation layer 500 may be formed of anorganic film absorbing a stress to give flexibility, the occurrence of acrack may be efficiently reduced or prevented.

FIGS. 6A to 6F are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment. In FIGS. 6A to 6F, like reference numerals as those in FIGS.1 to 3 will denote like elements. Thus, herein, redundant descriptionsthereof will be omitted for conciseness.

First, referring to FIG. 6A, a display unit 200 including an openingportion OP may be formed over a substrate 100, and a thin filmencapsulation layer 300 may be formed to seal the display unit 200.

Next, an upper dam 600 may be formed over the thin film encapsulationlayer 300.

As an alternative embodiment, the upper dam 600 may be formed at aposition corresponding to an edge of the opening portion OP. Forexample, the upper dam 600 may be formed to surround the opening portionOP.

The number of upper dams 600 is not limited, and the upper dam 600 maybe formed to have a certain height to function as a dam as describedlater.

FIG. 6A illustrates that the upper dam 600 is formed at a positioncorresponding to an edge of the opening portion OP (e.g., to be at leastpartially within the opening portion OP). However, the formationposition of the upper dam 600 is not limited thereto, and the upper dam600 may be formed at any position over the thin film encapsulation layer300 as long as it functions as a dam.

Next, referring to FIG. 6B, a buffer layer 350 may be formed over thethin film encapsulation layer 300. In this case, the upper dam 600 mayreduce or prevent the buffer layer 350 from spreading or leaking to theopening portion OP.

As described above, the display unit 200 may include a light-emittingdevice, such as an organic light-emitting device (OLED), and thelight-emitting device may include an electrode.

As an alternative embodiment, as described above, the display unit 200may include an OLED (see FIG. 3), and the OLED (see FIG. 3) may includea first electrode 281 (see FIG. 3) and a second electrode 285 (see FIG.3). In this case, a parasitic capacitance may occur between the touchelectrode 410 (see FIG. 6C) over the display unit 200 and the first andsecond electrodes 281 and 285 (see FIG. 3) included in the display unit200. When a parasitic capacitance occurs between the touch electrode 410(see FIG. 6C) over the display unit 200 and the first and secondelectrodes 281 and 285 (see FIG. 3) included in the display unit 200,the sensing sensitivity thereof may be degraded.

As in the following, a parasitic capacitance Cp generated between twolayers is inversely proportional to a distance “d” between the twolayers. To reduce the parasitic capacitance Cp generated between thedisplay unit 200 and the touch electrode 410 (see FIG. 6C), a certaindistance is required between the display unit 200 and the touchelectrode 410 (see FIG. 6C).

Cp∝1/d

Thus, as an alternative embodiment, the buffer layer 350 may beadditionally formed over the thin film encapsulation layer 300 tomaintain a certain distance between the display unit 200 and the touchelectrode 410 (see FIG. 6C).

In this case, the buffer layer 350 may be an organic film, as a filmhaving a certain thickness should be formed to maintain the distancetherebetween.

The buffer layer 350 may be formed to have an organic single-layerstructure or a multiple-layer structure, and may be formed by variousdeposition processes. In some embodiments, the buffer layer 350 may beformed of at least one of polyacrylates resin, epoxy resin, phenolicresin, polyamides resin, polyimides rein, unsaturated polyesters resin,poly phenylenethers resin, poly phenylenesulfides resin, and/orbenzocyclobutene (BCB).

When the buffer layer 350 is formed of an organic material, because afilm may be easily formed to have a certain thickness, the distancebetween the display unit 200 and the touch electrode 410 (see FIG. 6C)may be maintained.

Also, when the buffer layer 350 is formed of an organic material,because the buffer layer 350 has fluidity, it may spread or flow to theopening portion OP or to the edge of the substrate 100. However, asdescribed above, the display apparatus manufacturing method according tothe present embodiment may reduce or prevent the spreading of the bufferlayer 350 by forming the upper dam 600 over the thin film encapsulationlayer 300.

Next, referring to FIG. 6C, a touch electrode 410 may be formed over thebuffer layer 350. As described above, because the buffer layer 350maintains the distance between the display unit 200 and the touchelectrode 410, the occurrence of a touch sensing failure may be reducedor prevented.

Next, referring to FIG. 6D, a touch insulating film 430 may be formed tocover the touch electrode(s) 410.

Thereafter, to expose at least a portion of the touch electrode 410, atleast a portion of the touch insulating film 430 and the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP may be removedtogether with a process of removing a portion(s) the touch insulatingfilm 430 to form a touch contact hole(s) TCH.

When the touch insulating film 430 is an inorganic film formed of aninorganic material, a portion of the substrate 100 may be exposed byremoving the touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 in the opening portion OP concurrently with the forming of thetouch contact hole(s) TCH, for example, by a dry etching process.

Next, referring to FIG. 6E, a touch line(s) 450 may be formed over thetouch insulating film 430. The touch line(s) 450 may contact the touchelectrode 410 through the touch contact hole(s) TCH.

Next, referring to FIG. 6F, a hole H may be formed by removing at leasta portion of the substrate 100 exposed by the removal of a portion ofthe touch insulating film 430 and a portion of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP.

In a display apparatus 4000 manufactured by the display apparatusmanufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the hole H maybe formed in the substrate 100 in the opening portion OP in the displayregion DA.

The hole H may be formed by physically removing at least a portion ofthe substrate 100. The method of forming the hole H is not limitedthereto, and the hole H may be formed by various methods. In anembodiment, the hole H may have a smaller width than the opening portionOP. Also, in an embodiment, the hole H may have a smaller width than awidth of the touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 removed in the opening portion OP.

In the case of the display apparatus 4000 manufactured by the displayapparatus manufacturing method according to the present embodiment,because the inorganic films arranged at a portion for formation of thehole H are removed prior to forming of the hole H in the substrate 100,the occurrence and propagation of a crack may be reduced or prevented.Also, time and cost may be saved because the touch insulating film 430and the thin film encapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP maybe concurrently removed in the process of the forming the touch contacthole TCH.

Also, because the upper dam 600 and the buffer layer 350 are formed toincrease the distance between the touch electrode 410 and the displayunit 200, the occurrence of a touch sensing failure may be reduced orprevented.

FIGS. 7A to 7G are sequential cross-sectional views illustrating amethod of manufacturing a display apparatus according to anotherembodiment. Herein, for conciseness, differences from the displayapparatus manufacturing method illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6F will bemainly described, and like reference numerals will denote like elements,and thus redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

First, referring to FIG. 7A, a display unit 200 including an openingportion OP and a lower dam 700 may be formed over a substrate 100.

As an alternative embodiment, the lower dam 700 may be formed at an edgeportion of the opening portion OP.

Although FIG. 7A illustrates the embodiment of forming two lower dams700 at each edge portion of the opening portion OP, the number of lowerdams 700 is not limited thereto. Also, the shape of the lower dam 700 isnot limited, and the lower dam 700 may be formed to have any shape aslong as it has a suitable height.

As an alternative embodiment, the lower dam 700 may be formed tosurround an area of a hole H (see FIG. 7G) to be formed later in thesubstrate 100.

As an alternative embodiment, the lower dam 700 may include at least twolower dams 700 that are formed at positions spaced apart from each otherby a suitable distance. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, twolower dams 700 may be formed in parallel at an edge of the openingportion OP to be spaced apart from each other by a certain distance.

Next, a thin film encapsulation layer 300 may be formed to cover thelower dam 700 and the display unit 200. A concave portion C may beformed in thin film encapsulation layer 300 at a portion covering thelower dam 700. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7A, when the thinfilm encapsulation layer 300 is formed to cover two lower dams 700, thethin film encapsulation layer 300 may be formed to be concavely curvedbetween the two lower dams 700 spaced apart from each other by a certaindistance. Thus, the thin film encapsulation layer 300 may include theconcave portion C formed at a position between the two lower dams 700.

Next, referring to FIG. 7B, an upper dam 600 may be formed over the thinfilm encapsulation layer 300.

As described above, because the concave portion C is formed in the thinfilm encapsulation layer 300, the upper dam 600 may be easily formed.For example, as an alternative embodiment, two lower dams 700 spacedapart from each other may be formed, a concave portion C may be formedat a corresponding position between the two lower dams in the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 covering the lower dam 700, and an upper dam 600may be formed over the concave portion C. Because the concave portion Cis formed to be curved concavely between the two lower dams 700, theupper dam 600 may be easily formed at a position of the concave portionC.

Next, referring to FIG. 7C, a buffer layer 350 may be formed over thethin film encapsulation layer 300, and the buffer layer 350 may not flowinto the opening portion OP due to the upper dam 600.

Next, referring to FIG. 7D, a touch electrode 410 may be formed over thebuffer layer 350. Because the distance between the touch electrode 410and the display unit 200 is increased by the buffer layer 350, a touchsensing failure (e.g., electrical noise) may be eliminated.

Next, referring to FIG. 7E, a touch insulating film 430 may be formed tocover the touch electrode 410, and a touch contact hole(s) TCH may beformed in the touch insulating film 430. For example, the touch contacthole(s) TCH may be formed by removing portions of the touch insulatingfilm 430 to expose at least a portion of the touch electrode(s) 410.

In this case, at least a portion of the touch insulating film 430 andthe thin film encapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP may betogether removed to expose at least a portion of the substrate 100.

As an alternative embodiment, the thin film encapsulation layer 300 inthe opening portion OP may be an inorganic film 310.

Next, referring to FIG. 7F, a touch line(s) 450 may be formed in/overthe touch contact hole(s) TCH. The touch line(s) 450 may contact thetouch electrode(s) 410 through the touch contact hole(s) TCH.

Next, referring to FIG. 7G, a hole H may be formed by removing at leasta portion of the substrate 100 that is exposed by removing a portion ofthe touch insulating film 430 and a portion of the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 in the opening portion OP.

In a display apparatus 5000 manufactured by the display apparatusmanufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the hole H maybe formed in the substrate 100 in the opening portion OP in the displayregion DA.

The hole H may be formed by physically removing at least a portion ofthe substrate 100. The method of forming the hole H is not limitedthereto, and the hole H may be formed by various methods. The hole H mayhave a smaller width than the opening portion OP, and/or may have asmaller width than the portions of the touch insulating film 430 and thethin film encapsulation layer 300 removed from the opening portion OP.

In the case of the display apparatus 4000 manufactured by the displayapparatus manufacturing method according to the present embodiment,because the inorganic films, which are arranged at a portion forformation of the hole H, are removed in advance before the forming ofthe hole H in the substrate 100, the occurrence and propagation of acrack may be reduced or prevented. Also, time and cost may be savedbecause the touch insulating film 430 and the thin film encapsulationlayer 300 in the opening portion OP may be concurrently removed duringthe process of the forming the touch contact hole TCH.

Also, because the upper dam 600 and the buffer layer 350 are formed toincrease the distance between the touch electrode 410 and the displayunit 200, the occurrence of a touch sensing failure may be reduced orprevented.

Also, the upper dam 600 may be easily formed because the lower dam 700is formed over the substrate 100 and the concave portion C is formed tobe downwardly concaved and curved by the lower dam 700 in the thin filmencapsulation layer 300 covering the lower dam 700.

As described above, according to one or more of the above embodiments,it may be possible to reduce or prevent a crack from propagating oroccurring in the inorganic film in the case of forming the hole in thesubstrate in the display region.

Also, because the inorganic film of a portion where the hole will beformed in the progress of a touch process is removed in advance, thehole may be formed in the substrate without cracking, and while reducingthe number of processes.

While the embodiments of the inventive concept have been illustrated anddescribed above with reference to the figures, those of ordinary skillin the art will understand that the inventive concept is not limited tothe above embodiments, and that various changes and modifications inform and details may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the inventive concept as defined by the appended claims andtheir functional equivalents.

It should be understood that embodiments described herein should beconsidered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodimentshould typically be considered as available for other similar featuresor aspects in other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display apparatus including a display area and an opening area, the display apparatus comprising: a substrate having a hole located in the opening area; a pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels located at the display area; an encapsulation layer over the pixel array and comprising an organic encapsulation layer and an inorganic encapsulation layer; a passivation layer located at the opening area; and a touch layer over the encapsulation layer and comprising a plurality of touch electrodes.
 2. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the passivation layer comprises an organic insulation layer.
 3. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the organic insulation layer of the passivation layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polycarbonate, epoxy, polyethylene, or polyacrylate.
 4. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein an upper surface of the passivation layer is substantially flat.
 5. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the passivation layer overlaps a portion of the organic encapsulation layer.
 6. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the inorganic encapsulation layer is below the passivation layer.
 7. The display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the inorganic encapsulation layer comprises a first inorganic layer and a second inorganic layer, and the organic encapsulation layer is interposed between the first inorganic layer and the second inorganic layer.
 8. The display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of valleys in the opening area, and wherein the passivation layer covers the plurality of valleys.
 9. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pixels includes two pixels that are spaced apart from each other with the hole therebetween, wherein a width of the hole is less than a distance between the two pixels.
 10. A display apparatus including a display area and an opening area surrounded by the display area in a plan view, the display apparatus comprising: a substrate; a plurality of light emitting elements over the substrate and arranged in the display area; an encapsulation layer over the plurality of light emitting elements; an organic passivation layer over the encasuation layer in the opening area; and a hole in the opening area, the hole passing through the organic passivation layer, the encapsulation layer, and the substrate.
 11. The display apparatus of claim 10, wherein the organic passivation layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polycarbonate, epoxy, polyethylene, or polyacrylate.
 12. The display apparatus of claim 10, wherein an upper surface of at least a portion of the organic passivation layer is substantially flat.
 13. The display apparatus of claim 10, wherein the encapsulation layer comprises a first inorganic layer, an organic layer, and a second inorganic layer that are sequentially stacked.
 14. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein a portion of the organic passivation layer overlaps a portion of the organic layer of the encapsulation layer.
 15. The display apparatus of claim 13, wherein portions of the first inorganic layer and the second inorganic layer are below the organic passivation layer.
 16. The display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of valleys in the opening area, and wherein the organic passivation layer covers the plurality of valleys.
 17. The display apparatus of claim 10, wherein the organic passivation layer comprises a first edge adjacent to the hole and a second edge opposite to the first edge, and wherein the second edge is spaced apart from the plurality of light emitting elements.
 18. The display apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements comprises two light emitting elements that are spaced apart from each other with the hole therebetween, and wherein a width of the hole is less than a distance between the two light emitting elements.
 19. The display apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a touch layer over the encapsulation layer.
 20. The display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the touch layer comprises a plurality of touch electrodes and a touch insulation layer. 